Posted by Anthony - OH on March 25, 2001 at 20:22:07:
I’d hire an attorney quick.
When the tenant ran into the house to avoid the police and DRUGS were involved, then the police can now TAKE the property because it was involved in a drug related incident.
Now because the owner of the property had no idea that drug related crimes were being commited in the house (the tenant hid there), The landlord can now sue the police to get the property back, but the landlord is not entitled to anything else and cannot sue for damages.
This is the latest I’ve heard on the subject. Every police department in my area has at least 2 converted police cars that they got from confiscating cars from drug related crimes. Camaro’s, Firebirds, S-10’s, etc.
One S-10 pickup, painted like a police car has the license plate “GOTCHA”.
I have a tenant who was arrested for selling dope last Wednesday to an undercover cop. The deal went down at a local McDonalds and when the badge was pulled, she fled the scene and went back to her 2nd floor apartment. The cops followed, called her out, broke down the door and took her away. She spent the night in jail and her two roommates posted bail the next morning and she was released. Her hearing is in a few weeks and I’m concerned where I stand legally? Do I have the right to evict her being that she hasn’t been convicted yet? Can I evict the other two roommates who were not arrested? The cops suspect they are involved in the drug dealings but have no evidence. What if they stay there and are later arrested…could the cops come after me for harboring drug dealers?
Posted by Dee-Texas on March 24, 2001 at 23:04:08:
Ordinances & Statutes. Tenant shall comply with all municipal, state and federal law, statutes and ordinances now in effect, or which shall be enacted in the future, and any violation thereof shall be a complete and material breach of the lease. Tenant will be served a three day eviction notice.
This is in Bronchicks Lease…
His contracts and courses are the best.
I go over this when I lease to people…explaining that this means criminal activity in any shape or form…they don’t have to rent from me, if they have a problem with that part of the lease…
Dee-Texas
Posted by Tim Jensen on March 24, 2001 at 21:45:05:
Tom,
What I would do is just give the tenants a 30 day notice to leave. Be real nice about it, but give them the notice. Chances are they will just get up and leave, exspecially if they are selling drugs.
If they put up a stink, tell them that you can’t have the cops busting down doors.
In our state we can evict a tenant for nuisance with a 3-day eviction notice. Dealing drugs is certainly a nuisance. Cops coming to the door for drug aressts and breaking down the door is certainly a disturbance to the community and a nuisance. When it happened to me I got the case number and a copy of the police report which I attached to the eviction notice and I served it to the tenant at the jailhouse. They packed up and left as soon as she got out of jail. My recommendation is that you evict the whole bunch. I doubt that they will appeal; they don’t want that sort of visibility. They’ll just find another landlord. If your tenants sign written leases you might consider having them sign a “Drug Free Housing” addendum. Your police department or Apartment House Association can provide you with one, or you can make up your own, including a clause that states that drug related arrest are cause for immediate eviction of all tenants on the lease.
What does your lease say? If it says you can evict the tenants if they are arrested, then go ahead and evict. Or you may have a clause requiring them to remedy the damage to the door within a certain period of time. But without knowing what your lease says (if you have a lease), I can’t say what your legal rights are. Even if she is convicted of selling drugs, unless something in your lease gives you the right to evict because of it, you don’t automatically get to evict. Sorry, you haven’t given us enough info. to work with here…
Posted by Tim Jensen on March 25, 2001 at 11:14:40:
DEE,
I like what you put in the lease, but here is my take.
Let me start be saying that a lot of my rentals are lower income. I used to have one lease for all my tenants. It was a pretty big lease and had a lot of provisions. Then about 3 months ago, I started to realize something, the lease is only as good as the tenant signng it. I hate to say most of my tenants aren’t that good. In other words, they own nothing and have little to no networth. So, I went to a simple one page application/lease. It is real simple and to the point.
It has been my experience, that you can have every provision in the word in your lease and it doesn’t mean a thing if the tenant has no real net-worth. Also, I stay to only month-to-month leases. That way if a problem arises, all I need to do is give them a 30-day notice. Now many people think that a year lease locks someone in, however if someone has little or no networth, what do they have to lose by breaking the lease.
Now, if you have rental where the people have good jobs and such, then a more detailed lease is good.
Nice of the tenants to replace the door? It was their choice not to open it for the police. Further, both roommates and the arrested tenant addmitted to me that she sold drugs to the police. Innocent? I think not!
Thanks for the response Nate. My lease says that tenant must comply with all statutes and ordinances of all municipal, state and federal authorities. Kind of vague I suppose.
I know you can evict for someone having or dealing drugs on the property, but can you legally evict them for this when it was off the property? Even if the lease states if they are arrested…wouldn’t that only apply if it was for crimes committed on the premises?
What would committing a crime at a Mc Donald’s have to do with your leasing them a place to live?
Posted by Dee-Texas on March 25, 2001 at 12:36:11:
Thanks for taking the time to answer my post. Yes, you are right about the type of people.
I didn’t make myself clear on that I am NOT a landlord. This is the lease for my rent-to-own. I want to have something in writing so that I can have them removed easier, since I’m doing a L/O with them.
Some of the laws state that they can seize the person’s property meaning their house…meaning MY house…if they are convicted of making and or selling drugs.
Trying to Cover My Assets.
Great success to you,
Dee-Texas